Dust container for vacuum cleaners



April 19, 1949.

L. W. SCRIVEN DUST CONTAINER FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed Sept. 11, 1946 lfonazd IN V EN TOR.

Patented Apr. 19, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DUST CONTAINER FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Leonard W. Scriven, Pawtucket, R. I.

Application September 11, 1946, Serial No. 696,229

1 Claim. (01. 18351) .f invention relates to vacuum cleaners of the tank type and more particularly to an improved container for the dust and dirt collected in such a vacuum cleaner.

It is the general object of my invention to provide a container which automatically closes when it is removed from the cleaner and which thus prevents the escape of dust and dirt.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a perforated inside metal cylinder in which the removable container is supported when in use.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of parts of a vacuum cleaner of the tank type and having my invention embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the perforated cylinder and container removed from the vacuum cleaner;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of certain parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a modified container support;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of a rectangular permeable dirt container and perforated supporting member; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a conical supporting member and container.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown a portion of the outer casing ll] of a vacuum cleaner of the tank type which is in general of commercial construction. The cleaner also comprises a detachable head II to which the usual dust-collecting hose I2 is attached. The head I! may be threaded on the end of the casing In, or any usual and suitable clamping means may be provided for detachably securing these parts together.

The usual exhaust fan and motor assembly M is mounted at the opposite end of the casing H! from the head I I, that is, at the left-hand end as viewed in Fig. 1. The casing If! is provided with an inwardly projecting flange l4 adjacent the right-hand or open end thereof.

My invention in the preferred form comprises an inner perforated cylinder 20 which may be made of sheet metal or a suitable plastic material and which is provided in its cylindrical side wall 2| and inner end wall 22 with a multiplicity of air openings or perforations. Alternately, the

2 cylindrical member 20 may be formed in whole or in part of any suitable heavy wire mesh material.

The dust and dirt container is formed of any suitable flexible material which is permeable to permit air to be drawn through it and which is preferably so inexpensive that the container may be destroyed as soon as it becomes filled with dust and dirt. Very cheap and rather coarsely woven cloth and certain grades of strong permeable paper are suitable materials from which the container 30 may desirably be formed.

The container 30 is of such size that it loosely fills the cylinder 20, and it is provided at its open end with a contractive member (Fig. 3) which may be a rubber cord or a suitable coil spring of small diameter. This contractive member 35 is preferably enclosed in a hem or fold formed at the outer end of the container and is secured by cementing the overlapping parts or by providing rows of stitching as indicated at 3B.

In order to assemble the parts for use, a container 30 is placed within the perforated cylinder 20 and the end of the container is stretched around the end flange of the cylinder 20 and is held in place by the contractive member 35, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. The cylinder and container are then placed within the outer casing ll] of the vacuum cleaner and are clamped against the flange M by the head I I. The motor and fan M then draw the dust-laden and dirtladen air through the hose l2 into the container 30 and exhaust the air through the permeable container and through the perforated side and end walls of the cylinder 20. It will be noted that the side and end walls of the cylinder are substantially spaced from the outer casing H1 and from the motor assembly M.

When the container 30 has become filled with dirt and dust, the head I! is removed, the cylinder 20 and container 30 are withdrawn endwise from the casing l0, and the open end of the bag is slipped off of the end flange 40 of the perforated cylinder. As soon as the end of the bag is released from the flange 40, the contractive member 35 immediately closes the end of the container 30 as indicated at 30a in Fig. 2 and annoying escape of dust and dirt is thus prevented. The container 30 may then be removed and destroyed and the vacuum cleaner may be made ready for further use by inserting a fresh container in the cylinder 20 and reassembling the parts.

Instead of using the entire perforated cylinder 20 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a flanged ring (Fig. 4) may be used to hold the contractive end of the container open when the container is placed in the cleaner. This construction is not desirable unless the container is made of material of substantial strength.

In the construction shown in Fig. 5, the perforated member 80 is of rectangular cross section and encloses and supports a container Bl which is of similar rectangular section.

In the construction shown in Fig. 6, the perforated supporting member 10 is of conical shape, as is also the inner permeable container H. Either the rectangular construction shown in Fig. 5 or the conical construction shown in Fig. 6 may be substituted for the cylindrical construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 without change in the operation or advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

In a vacuum cleaner of the tank type, an enclosing casing, a perforated supporting member removably mounted on and within said casing but spaced inwardly therefrom and having an outwardly extending flat end flange, a permeable flexible dust-and-dirt container having one open end and mounted on and within said perforated member, and contractive means mounted in an annular pocket at the open end of said container and effective to removably secure said open end of said container to said perforated supporting member around said annular flange, said perforated member and said container being removable as a unit from said casing, and said contractive means being effective to automatically close said open end of said container when said container is loosened from the flange of said supporting member and before said container is removed from said supporting member.

LEONARD W. SCRIVEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,405,437 Quam Feb. 7, 1922 2,010,898 Ruemelin Aug. 13, 1935 2,129,105 Spence Sept. 6, 1938 2,319,384 Callan et al. May 18, 1943 2,388,279 Nuffer et a1 Nov. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 802,641 France June 13. 1936 

